I think a lot of us fall into the latter when it comes to what we have at our disposal. The question a lot of novice kayak anglers have asked me is how do I know what to take on a given outing? The specific tackle may vary from species to species and water types, but the concepts that I employ are still the same. I'm not saying my way is the only way, it's just one I prefer to use. Hopefully, some of the new members will also find it useful in planning their future outings.

Biggest simplification is exclusively using braid as main line, with or without fluoro leader. For freshwater, bay & inshore fishing, 10lb braid on a spinning reel covers 90% of all finesse & light lure applications & also weightless plastics. My go to setup is 20 or 30lb braid on a 6:1 baitcaster - handles everything except really heavy lures/rigs. 40lb on a "winch" type baitcaster covers most of the rest. Match rods accordingly of course.

Unfortunately, as primarily a bass angler, I find myself bringing more stuff than I ever use (but I might need it!). My usual rig is 5 rods, a DIY tackle tote with 6 3700 boxes, a softsided plastics organizer, spinnerbait tote, net, and trophy trough.In my last tournament, I actually used ALL 5 rods as different techniques were working in different spots and I didn't want to keep re-rigging. Even with adequate prefishing to hone in on the pattern, I'm always thinking "what if my giant swimbait is the ticket today?"

Unfortunately, as primarily a bass angler, I find myself bringing more stuff than I ever use (but I might need it!). My usual rig is 5 rods, a DIY tackle tote with 6 3700 boxes, a softsided plastics organizer, spinnerbait tote, net, and trophy trough.In my last tournament, I actually used ALL 5 rods as different techniques were working in different spots and I didn't want to keep re-rigging. Even with adequate prefishing to hone in on the pattern, I'm always thinking "what if my giant swimbait is the ticket today?"

I am with you. I bring 4 bass rods. I probably bring upwards of 50 crankbaits on a "normal" trip. Additionally there are topwater baits, jerk baits, etc. A zillion colors and types of soft plastic baits, jigs, hooks and sinkers. 40+ spinnerbaits in different skirt colors, weights, blade shape and blade color. That covers most of the bass stuff.

Then I often fish 1/2 day bass + 1/2 day sturgeon. Add a big sturgeon rod, 10lbs of sinkers in sizes 2-16oz, hooks, bait, leader material, scents, etc. I can't imagine too many folks topping my load weight on an average day of fishing.

Saddest thing is that I rarely change the lures I start the day with.

_________________Fish tremble when they hear my name

A ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are built for. --John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928

Every time I get too carried away I try to cut back.When I just upgraded from the Mirage sport to the Revo11 I rolled it and lost $700 worth of gear. Lets just say I was quite the minimalist for a few months after that (and I invested in rod leashes thereafter).

Now I see myself carrying too much stuff again on the typical offshore day:3 rodscrate with Live bait bucketGaffCatch bagFishFinder8" deep gear bucket with lures and spare misc bits2 cameras2 camera mountsand a drift anchor (sometimes)Takes me 30 minutes to go from car park to ready for launch.

Only time I am more minimalist is on inshore days:Small catch bag2 rodslanding netgulp bait and few inshore lures in a tupperwareone camera

If you fish offshore you don't think minimalist you think safety and survival. While I agree weight in a kayak is a primary concern. A good anchor, lights and communication gear might be considered over the top by some, it all depends on where your going and for how long.

As previously stated, a great way to train yourself towards minimalism is to fish from an inflatable. Thats what I did for years when I got started, so my yak fishing career began with a very minimal mindset. Slowly but surely I started going the other way and this was an easy mistake to make while working for Hobie Aus and afterwards in kayak stores. All that gear, all those ideas.

Eventually I started to see the error in my ways and started scaling it back wherever I could, without sacrificing the equipment I'd really need to make the most of the experience. In time I developed a mantra - maximum use of minimal gear. In fact I wrote about this in a bit of a rant on my website recently:

Part of the influence for the tone of this article was after observing so many people (customers) over-accessorizing their kayaks... especially beginners, who thought that more is more. Probably going against the approach a salesman should take, I encourage people not to but too much stuff when they get started - just the necessities. Not everyone listens to me though unfortunately.

Great article, Hanover Yakker! My wife thinks the PA12 is the perfect craft for me with a carrying capacity of 500 pounds, 200 of me, 300 of tackle.

I fish multiple type fresh-water lakes for multiple species. So, my technique for minimalizing is this: I have dozens of Plano boxes of almost every size. They are stacked vertically in long, tall cabinets I had built for them. On the end of each box as it faces me, I Sharpie mark the basics of what is inside, I.E. Large Top Water Cranks, Medium Top Water Cranks, Small Top Water Cranks, Ultra-Light Top Water Cranks, etc, etc.

I have one cabinet for spinning and casting-gear lures, another similar for flyfishing flies from salmon, to pike, to walleyes, to trout, to panfish.

If you have a PA12, the space under the seat exactly matches the new Cabelas Small Pro Angler Bag with four Plano boxes. (Attach with a coil keeper!) That plus the large Plano box under the seat supplied with the PA12, and the two small boxes in front of the seat will hold all the lure selection I need for any trip.

Before I go, it takes just a few minutes to load up with the lures/flies I anticipate needing on the water. The trick is, when I return is to unload and restore all the lures to the main boxes.If you fail in that, the system fails.

Now, since so many sinking cranks are looking so similar but have different density or diving characteristics I take a Sharpie and on the side of each lure I write the depth the box says they are supposed to work at. For example 8-12, 18-20.

By labeling all the Plano boxes in the cabinets, and returning everything (that isn't eaten by lake monsters) to the main storage boxes, I can load up and be gone in less than 15 minutes with exactly what I think I will need, and be "minimalist" as I ever get.

From that point on I always thought about efficiency in every single facet of my kayak fishing load-out, from lure selection, to storage concepts and even in gaff hook selection (designing a gaff hook that would double as a donger, eliminating the need to carry a separate donger).

Okay Josh, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, I have to ask: What exactly is a "donger?"

I'm assuming you're not asking a gaff to serve double duty for an important part of your anatomy or a character from Sixteen Candles...